The Latvian U18 men’s national team (born in 2003/2004), on Thursday, August 5, in the third game of the FIBA Challenger tournament in Konya, Turkey, beat the Russian juniors – 73:60 (14:10, 33:34, 50:45), winning the first tournament. Our team’s next opponents in Group C will be the juniors of Turkey (August 7 at 6 pm) and Poland (August 8 at 3 pm). Live games can be followed http://www.fiba.basketball/europe/challengers/u18/2021
After two heavy losses, the Latvian team had drawn productive conclusions, and had prepared both mentally and tactically for the third game with the Russian team. Good defense slowed down the opponents’ aggression and success in protecting their basket gradually unleashed the attack. Until the end of the third quarter, the Latvian team was mostly in the lead, although the predominance fluctuated within a few points. But in the middle of the decisive offensive, he managed convincingly, securing the first victory in the tournament – 73:60.
For the first time in the tournament, Latvians had fewer mistakes than their opponents (18-24), managed to win the fight against baskets (34-32) and accurately attack from a long distance (10/25 – 6/19).
Rihards Teirumnieks scored 25 points, Gustavs Jakubauskis 13 (3p. 4/6).
In the 3rd round, Slovenia – Poland 75:53, Czech Republic – Turkey 57:65.
Due to the difficult epidemiological situation, the Board of the International Basketball Federation’s European Zone (FIBAEurope) canceled the 2021 European Youth Championships. In order to ensure the practice of the games, an informal competition series – FIBA Challengers – will be organized. In the U18 age group, the 18 best teams in the European ranking table were divided into three top six. The tournaments take place in Skopje (Northern Macedonia), Tel Aviv (Israel) and Konya (Turkey). The best teams in each tournament will receive prizes, the results will not affect the countries’ positions in the official FIBA youth team ranking.
FIBA U18 Challenger, C grupa
| Teams | RUS | THERE | SLO | YEARS | POL | NS | U-Z | V |
| Russia | x | 60:73 | 61:77 | 66:48 | 1-2 | |||
| Turkey | x | 67:74 | 81:74 | 65:57 | 2-1 | |||
| Slovenia | 74:67 | x | 84:44 | 75:53 | 3-0 | |||
| Latvia | 73:60 | 44:84 | x | 42:78 | 1-2 | |||
| Poland | 77:61 | 74:81 | 53:75 | x | 1-2 | |||
| Czech Republic | 48:66 | 57:65 | 78:42 | x | 1-2 |
Latvian U18 national team
| Name and surname | Dz.g. | Item | Sports school / club 2021 |
| Valters Briedis | 2003 | 1. | Ādaži – University of Latvia |
| Rihards Teirumnieks | 2003 | 1./2. | Ezerzeme – Orlandina (ITA) |
| Christopher Carlson | 2004 | 1. | Riga / DSN |
| Dans Galdins | 2004 | 2. | Riga / DSN |
| Markuss Lastins | 2004 | 2. | BS Ogre |
| Ernests Ločmelis | 2004. | 2. | Riga / Basketball class |
| Gustavs Jakubauskis | 2003 | 2. | Liepaja |
| Davis Skreivers | 2003 | 3./4. | Jekabpils / Livani |
| Rūdolfs Rudmiezis | 2004 | 4. | Valmiera |
| Jānis Matušonoks | 2003 | 4. | Ogre – Cremona (ITA) |
| Aleksis Gedrovics | 2003 | 5. | Riga / DSN – Valmiera GLASS VIA |
| Peter Pinnis | 2004 | 5. | IMSS – Riga / A.Krauklis VEF BS |
| Management | |
| Pēteris Ozoliņš | Head coach |
| Krists Pīternieks | Trainer |
| Sandis Buškevics | Trainer |
| Ieva Pelše | Physiotherapist |
| Jānis Laganovskis | Manager |
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